Santa Ana Councilwoman Michele Martinez, who is running for Mayor of Santa Ana, has issued a press release regarding the arrest of her brother, Pedro Franco, during the recent gang sweep conducted by the Santa Ana Police Department. Here is Martinez’ press release in its entirety:
I want to make it clear that I will not tolerate gang violence regardless of who is involved. The city has been complacent and lethargic in responding to gang activity. I am driven to break this counterproductive culture. I have advocated significant investment in community policing to help curtail gang violence. By developing relationships with neighbors and identifying hot-spot areas, officers can cultivate strategies that address crime at its source. Commitment to this plan has proven to be one of the most effective ways to deter crime.
Furthermore, I will continue to support after school programs and community outreach that help divert young people away from gangs and unlawful activities. I have contributed much time and personal funds to several scholarships and non-profit organizations. Combating gangs through the enrichment of the youth will always be an impetus to my involvement in Santa Ana Politics.
In addition, I have addressed the need to promote wellness and sustainability in the community. I understand that health problems can devastate families and lead to insecurity in neighborhoods. By creating an environment where people are encouraged to and can lead healthy lives, we can eliminate a core source of instability. Through my deep involvement in the community, I have been at the forefront of producing positive change. I hope you join me as we continue to tackle the issues that affect the people of Santa Ana. This is the reason I am running for mayor.
The recent accusations associating me with the actions of my brother have been outright false and misleading by my opposition. Any crimes that he has committed were done solely on his own discretion. As an active member in the community and Councilwoman, I have dedicated myself to promoting a safe and healthy environment. The following are facts of some of my accomplishments:
- Authored the Early Prevention and Intervention Commission, an advisory board to address issues related to gangs and at-risk youth.
- Received Orange County United Way’s 2008 Hispanic Influentials award for efforts in addressing the inequalities in the Latino community and empowering others.
- Recognized as an “Emerging Latina of the Year” in 2007 by the National Latina Business Women Association.
- Helped develop the million-pound challenge to address the obesity problem in Santa Ana.
- Gained local accolades for significant work on the Project Pride Program, a nationally recognized after-school gang prevention program.
- Helped provide college outreach, cultural awareness, and encouraged community service for high school students as a Board Member for FLAMA and the Boys and Girls Club of Santa Ana.
- Awarded Orange County’s Youth of the Year for serving as a positive role model and for personal achievements in the community.
Hey if Obama can toss Grandma under the bus why not Martinez. Whatever happened to Familia? I don’t see anything in there about trying to get “Bro” any help, but I sure do see a lot of campaign dishwater. BTW I have nothing against Martinez. I just think a campaign ad in response to her brothers getting arrested is cold. A two sentence denial in a 5 paragraph campaign speech must have taken the whole week to prepare.
Michele, I hear you but what if your brother only told them he was your brother because he was being abused and he was afraid for his life? I’m sure he would not have said that unless this was so. I’m sure he would not want to draw attention to you unless he feared for his life. Was he walking in a injunction area? We all know that the police profile. This is what happened to us in Santa Anita EPIC meeting, the biggest turn out on Thursday night. The City will no longer tolerate youth awaken from their bed and arrested and charged but assault on a police officer? They will no longer tolerate any Hispanic youth 18 years of age that has never been on probation or parole? They will violate the rights of the families that live in Santa Ana.
Instead of creating safety zones for the youth will no longer tolerate youth at the EPIC Meeting. I am intolerant to this abuse of the people of Santa Ana. I am intolerant to the police robbing people of money, when they take them in. Why was there no Proof of Money sitting on that table? Or Drugs that they had taken. They only thought people were interested in the guns, and gang attire. I’m glad that the people with guns were arrested and taken in but where are the proofs of drugs and money? Maybe I think different than the rest of you. When I think of families that do have their constitutional rights violated I hate that, and this leadership that condones the abuse of our constitutional rights should be removed. After all we should all be in confines of the law.
I am very disappointed in epic. I was at the meeting on Thursday night with various of our neighbors and leaders. There was a mother that was tired of the police barging into her home. She told them that two people were no longer living at the home, She was there with her children including a young man that has just graduated from high school. He has never been on probation or parole.
Thomas Gordon was at the meeting, well to make a long story short after the meeting I receive a call to go to witness police officers arresting this young man, I did not make it in time to witness this but the young man was awaken from bed and asked to step outside which he had no fear after being at the meeting. They questioned him and told him to return back inside the house as he did this (it was dark) he tripped on something and the police pushed him and slugged him in the face. He was immediately arrested. His charge assault on a police officer.
Thanks! to the orange juice we seen the press conference and attended to voice our dismay over the gang raids and taking innocent youth and ruining their lives. We were told if he was on the picture board and he was. He was one of the notorious gang members (or Thugs as Claudia called them). Imagine that this young kid who’s life is just starting ruined! Do the police feel any guilt for this horrendous error being made? I would assume to say that this is profiling. Our neighborhood would like to participate in solving the problem, but what can we do when the police agencies call us the cesspool of Santa Ana, or low life’s? How can they not see that we are trying to contribute solutions to our society, we were told that this was the biggest turn out for epic. We were trying to be good community members. I guess I’m just rambling, but what can we do to prevent the ruination of our youth? Do these officers know what little that epic was trying to accomplish has received a black eye in this neighborhood? How do they plan to try and justify this injustice done to this kid? I know people are going to try and say yea right, the police do not make mistakes.But they do make mistakes, they are human like the rest of us and give way to temptation. Why do they not try to work with us?
Well, I just do not know what else to say. To see Anthony Ramos picture on that board made me sick to my stomach, this youth did not deserve this! Was this retaliation because his mother spoke up at the meeting about the police abuse. Right now in my eyes they are the gang (unit) terrorist in the community. We need people at city hall that know what goes on in the community, that can be the fire break in the community to bring an end to
terrorist acts on both sides of the coin.
Blah Blah Blah. This is nothing more than an overly repetitive statement with no new content. An emerging award from an underwater organization NLBWA and another award from UW for the obvious where no significant change has been made.
I doubt that the less than articulate Martinez wrote her response.
Lisann,
You’re whacked! Ramos ripped the badge off an officers uniform shirt. He was photographed shortly thereafter, didn’t have a mark on his body and made no claim of being struck in the face by an officer. Yours is second hand information at best. Mine is as an eye witness. He’s a violent punk who was taken into custody in a case and manner authorized by law!!
#1 and #3,
Why are you two so offended and angry by an articulate imformative response to this issue?
#3,
You don’t think a young Hispanic lady is capable of an articulate thoght? How sad, even worse if you are a Hispanic as you would like the readers to believe.
#1,
You see this response as a political ad?
Are you also insenced about her opposition throwing her brother under the bus to politicaly damage Michele? Are the Gang Unit and the Safety Committee(Alvarez, Tinajero and Benevides) concerned with Pedro getting any help?
Michele is concerned that is why she is involved with the programs she mentions in her response.
What about the incumbent?
Yes she is politicaly defending herself.
Both of you are only angry because she can effectively do so.
Michele writes: “The recent accusations associating me with the actions of my brother have been outright false and misleading by my opposition.”
Where have these accusations been published? I see this tactic all of the time in emails that litigants send each other, where one asks the other to stop doing things that are not even being done, as a means of convincing the judge that it’s fact.
HER FAMILY HAS TOO MUCH DRAMA!!
The drama is political drama. Created, fabricated and made public for politial manipulation.
Your employer hires you not your brother,sister or any other member of your family.
Try placing family background questions on a employment application.
#6,
accusations as such need not be published to get the desired result. That is why litigants do what litigants do. A judge with a personal conviction can be persuaded. It is why attorneys do it.
Similarly, it is why Michele’s opposition take like action. Hoping to pursued.
What minute? Is anyone here saying she should intervene on his behalf because of who she is? Of course she can’t! Damned if you do, damned if you don’t.
It’s called tough love people and he needs to deal with the consequences of his misconduct, that’s it.
I’m pretty tired of elected officials using their title and power to help family members get out of trouble, this is how it should be handled.
Art, that’s my point – I don’t see her opposition taking such action. Who has criticized her for her brother’s arrest? In fact, the whole affair seems pretty quiet – the only one making any noise about it seems to be Michele.
With all due respect to the various posters, Martinez is in way over her head for the Mayoral position. Pulido knows it. The sharks are in the water circling Martinez. It is, I believe, an unfortunate situation for her that ultimately will result in a searing defeat.
Having watched many SACC meetings, especially this year, it is very clear that this statement is a pr response to a very difficult situation for her. It is, to my way of thinking, too clean a statement and is meant to deflect any negative associations between Martinez and her brother. Unfortunately, this is another example of family members’ behavior negatively affecting a campaign.
Typically, such situations are very difficult to recover from and the opposition will exploit that relationship and association as part of a larger campaign to discredit her candidacy.
This could have been avoided, on the front end, by a smart public relations move, to acknowledge the behaviorial history of a family member (if what has been written is accurate:specifically that this individual was on parole) and acknowledge the achievements of the candidate to combat the continuing existence of such behavior in urban areas. What Martinez now finds herself in is in a catchup mode:she will continually have to deal with this situation; any other strategies she may have for governing the city get lost in the dust raised by her brother’s arrest.
Sorry. This is not the first nor will it be the last of the existance of such situations. Its politics as practiced by the hard right and hard left and experienced politicos attempting to maintain their base.
Busty will be accountable for his statements. He cant get around that. Martinez, albeit now, will be on the defensive because of her brothers past history and current situation.
Just a pragmatic assessment of the situation.
Unfortunately, this situation is one of those where any statement Martinez makes will be viewed with some skepticism. She will be hard pressed to convince the electorate that she was not aware of his status (on parole) or that she has not been in contact with him. Voters will look at that and think “Right”.
A similiar situation: McCain not knowing how many homes he has. Do you know how many homes you have?
HEY EVERYBODY TOMMOROW IS MONDAY AND THIS STORY WOULD BE CONSIRED OLD…. JUST TO LET U ALL KNOW THAT THIS WAS IN MIGUELS AGENDA TO ATTACK MICHELE AND IT WILL CONTINUE BEACAUSE POLITICS IS A DIRTY GAME …. AND IS NOT OVER YET…
I like Michelle Martinez, lots of politicians have family members that are an embarassment to them, she’ll survive this.
The questions she needs to remember is: how much access does this family member have or do criminal elements have [due to this family member] to “insider information”? and how much influence does the family member have over the politician’s actions in their political arena?
If she keeps these answers correct she won’t have to worry about her brother, at least not politically.
Organizations like the one’s Michelle received awards from only have those awards to bring in donors, either through event sponsorship or individual major donors.
Those awards are the most self-serving awards out there. Usually, there is no basis for granting the award outside of how much publicity and money the honoree will bring to the non-profit.
Bottom line, receiving those awards aren’t anything special to specifically promote as part of your “achievement list.”
Michelle, stick to listing your actions not your awards.
Every family has drama.
Yousa,
You’re the one that is in La La Land. You must be a police officer if you witnessed it first hand. I was there when the night Commander called his home to say what he was being charged with. There was no one else aside from family members how would you know that? How would you have seen pictures of him after the incident and known of his complaints? Unless, you are one of the officers that asked him to step out of his house.
If he was such a violent punk, that assaulted a police officer then why was he release at 3:00 a.m.? I guess the police had to charge him with something if he had no priors, and release him.
I am not saying that there are not serious gang members out there or that all police are bad. There are a lot of good police officers out there,
and we can’t let a few bad apples spoil the rest.
But when a peace officer violates anyone’s rights they should be prosecuted in case and manner authorized by law!!
#15,
Let the readers know of any group that does not fit your discription.
All organisations have retention and recruitment plans. It is marketing. They recognize those in the community that make a difference.
Try getting recognised by these groups by sitting on your butt. It won’t happen.
These awrds are significant.
The incumbant sits on boards of some of these groups and often seeks their support.
She rightfuly should be proud of these awards.
First, in a stroke of classic Liberalism, Michele sells her brother by the pound in order to strengthen her position as candidate for mayor.
Second, who the heck is “lisann”? Asleep at the wheel….
Oh, and let’s not forget that it’s Martinez who wants to designate Santa Ana as a “sanctuary” for illegal aliens, which is a) a violation of her oath of office, b) a violation of California law and c) a violation of Federal law….
…but, why would that surprise anyone?
Mr. Lomeli, as someone who is on the inside of organizations who give out awards like these (where, additionally, nepotism and cronyism are sometimes deciding factors), I’m much more impressed with the Million-Pound Challenge and Early Prevention and Intervention Commission.
I get your point, but there’s an ugly flip side that takes away from the “significance” of these awards.
#21,
I agree with you. Nothing is pure.
Smelling possible family dysfunction, I wonder if someone can explain to me why Ms. Martinez has a different last name than her brother? Could be a simple explanation, or could be another clue to the realities of the gene pool. anyone have teh facts on this one?
#23,
Could the last name difference be due to multiple mariages – relationships as occurs in many other families?
I believe roughly 50% of marriages in the USA end in divorce. Many re-marry and have children within the new relationship.
I beleive divorce is less prevelant in the Hispanic culture.
What is your association of gene pool to siblings with different last names?
You racist mind has no relevancy here.
Crawl back under the rock you came out of.